China Railway Construction Corp, builder of more than half the nation's rail links since 1949, has raised the maximum HK$18.3 billion (US$2.35 billion) sought in a Hong Kong initial stock sale, according to two insiders.
The Beijing-based company sold 1.71 billion new shares at HK$10.70 each, the top end of a range marketed to investors, said the two people, who declined to be identified before an official statement. The sale represents a 14-percent stake, Bloomberg News reported.
China Railway Construction also raised US$3.13 billion in Shanghai, completing the largest IPO in Asia-Pacific this year even as falling markets prompted at least 65 companies worldwide to cancel or delay sales.
The company attracted Yale University, owner of North America's second-biggest college endowment, and Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte as investors.
Hong Kong's largest first-time offering in almost a year may help the city rebound from the slowest start to its IPO market since 2000, measured by number of sales. Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd and owners may raise as much as US$2.13 billion in a Hong Kong IPO, according to an e-mail sent by the sale's arrangers yesterday.
China Railway's sale values it at 28.7 times 2008 profit as estimated by banks arranging the sale. That's almost double the average valuation among companies on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index.
The former railway construction unit of the Chinese military also became the first firm this year to price a Hong Kong IPO at the top of a marketed range, a practice that was the norm in 2007, when the Hang Seng gained 39 percent.